In current cellular systems the NW deployment done is static in the sense that deployed NW nodes typically operate the same way all the time. However, in many scenarios, the capacity needed in certain places may vary depending on say time of the day, or also in between days depending on say “rush hours”. The operation of NW nodes may be adapted based on statistics on such time-dependent capacity needs, but still according to a predetermined scheme.
Whenever the demanded traffic deviates from this predetermined scheme, the NW deployment either provides too much capacity, and thus likely consumes too much energy, or provides too little capacity, which is likely to cause the users of the NW to experience bad service. It is therefore a desire to provide a dynamic NW deployment.
EP 2731383 discloses a micro base station controller which receives a geographical position of a mobile station and when the mobile station position matches the position of a micro base station the controller instructs the micro base station to serve the mobile station, e.g. by instructing the micro base station to change from sleep state into wake-up state. The controller further instructs a micro base station to go into sleep mode when there does not exist any mobile station in a macro base station coverage area.
EP2416609 discloses a system where small cell base stations are switched on and off, i.e. between an active state and a dormant state. A controller receives, via a macro base station, a report on a location of a terminal, wherein the controller determines whether the small cell base station is within a threshold distance from the terminal and sends a control command to the small cell base station whether to change state.
WO 2012/042375 discloses that a serving base station may wake up a neighbouring sleep mode base station when link quality to a UE is lower than a threshold.